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Li, J.; Wan, B.; Yao, Y.; Bu, T.; Li, P.; Zhang, Y. Fitness-for-All and World. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/42941 (accessed on 09 July 2024).
Li J, Wan B, Yao Y, Bu T, Li P, Zhang Y. Fitness-for-All and World. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/42941. Accessed July 09, 2024.
Li, Jiaomu, Bin Wan, Yaping Yao, Te Bu, Ping Li, Yang Zhang. "Fitness-for-All and World" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/42941 (accessed July 09, 2024).
Li, J., Wan, B., Yao, Y., Bu, T., Li, P., & Zhang, Y. (2023, April 11). Fitness-for-All and World. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/42941
Li, Jiaomu, et al. "Fitness-for-All and World." Encyclopedia. Web. 11 April, 2023.
Fitness-for-All and World
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This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su15054203

The Fitness-for-All was elevated to a national strategy, and the National Fitness Program (2011–2015) was launched to enhance the development of mass sports and well-being services by building a national fitness public service system.

globalization culture health physical activity inclusive

1. Pioneering a Large Population with Inadequate Sports Resources

Sports modernization has never before been attempted in a developing country as populous as China. There is no precedent to follow but what China creates for itself, highlighting the significance of China’s experience in building an inclusive system. Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese path to sports modernization transcends the traditional sports development model and keeps the path of health first [1], making the development of mass sports a crucial component of the objective of establishing a strong sports nation. To enhance health through physical activity, the Chinese government developed a comprehensive fitness program [2] for all life stages, including childhood, adolescence, middle age, and old age, as well as for women, farmers, workers, and the disabled. In particular, China has strengthened the construction of public sports spaces to serve special groups, such as children and youth, and people with disabilities, as a result of the Olympic Movement during the hosting of the Youth Olympic Games and Paralympic Games [3], and the legacy of the Olympic venues has provided modern facilities for people to engage in physical activity [4]. Meanwhile, all levels of government direct the implementation of diverse forms of sports activities with the characteristics of different regions in the east, middle, and west [5], thereby realizing the vigorous development of sports in a populous country with the National Fitness Program that benefits all people. By 2020, 37.2% of the Chinese population regularly engage in physical activity [6], representing a significant achievement in the development of national health policy.
The second significance of the Chinese path to sports modernization is the leapfrogging of the sports industry in developing countries with inadequate sports resources and the promotion of sustainable economic development through the sports industry. Sports resources consist of all conditions and factors used or available for people to engage in sports production or sports-related activities, and their allocation and efficiency would substantially influence the development of the sports industry [7]. Industrialized countries have sufficient socioeconomic resources for the modernization of sports, and the leisure sports industry has become an integral part of the national economies of the USA, the United Kingdom, and Australia where market-driven capitals are sufficient [8]. China, on the other hand, creates a distinctive path for the development of its sports industry by deepening the reform of the system affecting the development of its sports industry, maximizing the market’s decisive role in resource allocation, and continuously promoting the participation of societal forces in organizing grassroots-level sports [9], with the government taking the lead and diverse social and market players participating. In 2020, the total scale of China’s sports industry reached CNY 2737.2 billion, with an added value of CNY 1073.5 billion [10], achieving the goal of rapid modernization of the sports industry in a developing country with inadequate sports resources.
China, a developing country with a large population and inadequate sports resources, has evolved into a novel approach to modernization that leverages sports to promote sustainable socioeconomic transitions. This is a crucial aspect of China’s path to sports modernization.

2. Synergizing Sectors and Resources

The Chinese path to sports modernization emphasizes the coordinated and unified role of sports departments at all levels and is a comprehensive model that uses sports as a springboard to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals [11] via a synergistic method of working across sectors and fields. First and foremost, the national fitness campaign will continue to promote the application of AR, VR, and 5G technology in the construction and management of smart fitness infrastructures, the construction of a modern national fitness public service system, and the modernization of national public services so that people can live a healthier lifestyle in a livable environment. Second, competitive sports will accelerate the application of high-tech science and technology services for sports training and competition, deepen the reform of the institutional mechanism of sports management, promote the modernization of the sports governance system and governance capacity, and ultimately reach the goal of modernizing China’s institutional system and capacity for governance. Third, by constructing a modern sports industry, the sports industry will boost the modernization of China’s economic development and global competitiveness by advancing the integration of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data, and wearable smart devices into sports and the real economy. Fourth, by promoting the spirits of the Chinese women’s volleyball team [12][13], it continues to demonstrate the essential role of Chinese women in the national modernization process and will encourage all Chinese people to enjoy equal working conditions, anticipate a prosperous life with confidence, and promote social harmony. Fifth, the amendment of the Law on Physical Culture and Sports [14], greater efforts to develop sports culture, and expansion of sports exchanges with Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan would provide substantial support for the modernization of the rule of law, the regional economy [15], and the “one country, two systems” policy.
Sports embody the profound spiritual power of a country and national identity [16], and they can unite the entire population toward the second Century Goal. The modernization of Chinese sports will play a crucial role at the theoretical and practical levels, make a landmark contribution to the overall progress in material, political, cultural-ethical, social, and ecological terms, and uphold and advance socialism with Chinese characteristics.

3. Advocating the Diversity of World Sports Civilizations

Each civilization is rooted in its cultural milieu. The world abruptly realized, upon entering the 2020s, that global governance deficits remain significant [17], and that many global problems such as climate change necessitate action from diverse players. This is also true for sports governance. Without a deeper understanding of the differences between our culture and others, it would be impossible to create interaction, dialogue, and harmony across world sports civilizations [18].
The Chinese path to sports modernization is a new model formed by embracing the great Chinese culture based on its development demands and future vision, and its advantages can be shared by the international sports community to complement each other and openly achieve shared growth. China adheres to the concept of “a global community of shared future” [19] and builds a modernized path to peaceful development and win-win sports through sports [20], which fully embodies the Chinese thought of harmony and is conducive to the diversity of world sports civilizations. The reform and opening-up encouraged China to learn from other great cultures, and China never hoards its hard-won expertise. While gaining its development, China has actively participated in global sports governance and provided sports aid and cultural exchange to developing countries in a variety of ways [21], thereby narrowing the gap between the levels of competitive sports and fostering an inclusive form of sports modernization and civilization. Figure 1 portrays how China cooperated with Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation, to pursue an ecological path during its sports modernization and support the sustainability of China’s Belt and Road Initiative [22]. The Chinese path to sports modernization embraces China’s contemporary outlook on human civilization, and the successful hosting of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics during a global health crisis demonstrates that diverse governance could “revitalize the global partnership” [12] and lead to shared stability for all human progress, which is significant for the future of Chinese civilization as well as world civilizations.
Figure 1. China’s green technological diffusion at the Qatar World Cup 2022. (A) An agricultural field in Qatar. The World Cup pitch in Qatar utilized Ningxia University’s patented irrigation technology. Chinese agricultural technology is helping Qatar to plant vegetables in the desert. Photo courtesy of CGTN. (B) Al Kharsaah solar power plant. The Chinese-built 800-megawatt power station is the third-largest single photovoltaic power project in the world. The natural gas-rich Gulf nation of Qatar is committed to hosting a low-carbon World Cup and climate action initiatives. Photo courtesy of CGTN. (C) Lusail Stadium features on Qatar’s QR 10 banknote. Not only is the Chinese-built venue a legacy in Qatar’s history and a landmark in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, but it is also a symbol of a responsible regional leader pursuing globalization and modernization. Photo courtesy of Qatar Central Bank.

4. Revealing the Synchronous Modernization of Sports and Humanity

Modern sports are the manifestation of human nature in social modernity [23]. Throughout the evolution of the history of sports in the world, the development process of sports has consisted of a deeper awareness of the complex connections and interactions between sports and humanity. Ancient sports were often accompanied by religious rites [24]. The purpose of sports was to perpetuate and develop human life, to make a relationship with God through sports to understand the world and the existence of mankind, and to establish a connection between sports and humanity’s natural life. With the development of industrialized society, the repressed, tense, and impulsive emotions of modern civilization must be unleashed. There is a need for a reasonable reason to release impulses, and with this comes the modernization of sports, which evolves it into a legal and reasonable platform for impulses within rules and regulations. Modern sports advance the humanistic ideals of promoting common human development, while globalization increases the demands for the well-rounded development of people and social progress in all spheres.
China, as a part of the global community, missed the early stages of industrialization, but maintained pace with the modern era in its arduous struggle for existence, highlighting the irreversibility of globalization and modernization. Due in part to China’s low level of industrialization and the absence of a commensurate industrial social framework, the social underpinning for the modernization of Chinese sports was exceptionally difficult. Additionally, harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature is at the core of traditional Chinese sports and culture, while Western sports are centered on competitiveness [25]. China, based on its national conditions and under the leadership of the CPC, has explored a socialist sports path with Chinese characteristics, and it has progressively become a world sports power. This is a history of modernization from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization, as well as the evolution of Chinese sports into a higher-order cultural sports civilization. The Chinese path to sports modernization follows the trend of economic globalization as well as the direction of human social progress rooted in Chinese culture, demonstrating that, from a Chinese perspective, sports modernization evolves in tandem with human modernization.

References

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  2. The State Council of the People’s Republic of China. Circular of the State Council on Printing and Issuing the National Fitness Program (2021–2025). Available online: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2021-08/03/content_5629218.htm (accessed on 3 August 2021).
  3. Li, J.; Sun, B. Comparison between the Youth Olympic Games and Olympic Games in Legacy. J. Sports Res. 2017, 31, 47–52.
  4. Wang, W.; Liu, Z.; Bu, T.; Jiao, F. Sustainable land use and green ecology: A case from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics venue legacy. Front. Environ. Sci. 2023, 10, 2475.
  5. Wang, W.; Theodoraki, E. Mass sport policy development in the Olympic City: The case of Qingdao—host to the 2008 sailing regatta. Perspect. Public Health 2007, 127, 125–132.
  6. General Administration of Sport of China. Sports Statistics. Available online: https://www.sport.gov.cn/n315/n329/index.html (accessed on 10 May 2021).
  7. Tan, T.-C.; Green, M. Analysing China’s Drive for Olympic Success in 2008. Int. J. Hist. Sport 2008, 25, 314–338.
  8. Yang, L.; Zhou, Y. Reference and Revelation of Leisure Sports Industry Development in Foreign Developed Countries for China. Theory Reform 2017.
  9. CGTN. Yao Ming Lavishly Praises Grassroots Basketball Games in Chinese Village. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xwVe0j_4y0&ab_channel=CGTN (accessed on 14 August 2022).
  10. National Bureau of Statistics of China. National Sports Industry Total Scale and Value Added Data Announcement in 2020. Available online: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/202112/t20211230_1825760.html (accessed on 30 December 2021).
  11. Salvo, D.; Garcia, L.; Reis, R.S.; Stankov, I.; Goel, R.; Schipperijn, J.; Hallal, P.C.; Ding, D.; Pratt, M. Physical Activity Promotion and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Building Synergies to Maximize Impact. J. Phys. Act. Health 2021, 18, 1163–1180.
  12. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Education for Sustainable Development Goals: Learning Objectives. Available online: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247444 (accessed on 13 March 2017).
  13. Dong, J. A reflection on ‘factors determining the recent success of Chinese women in international sport’. Int. J. Hist. Sport 1998, 15, 206–210.
  14. Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Law of the People’s Republic of China on Physical Culture and Sports. Available online: https://www.sport.gov.cn/n10503/c24405484/content.html (accessed on 25 June 2022).
  15. Yuan, J.; Zhou, Y.; Liu, Y. Convergence Evaluation of Sports and Tourism Industries in Urban Agglomeration of Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and Its Spatial-Temporal Evolution. Sustainability 2022, 14, 10350.
  16. Xu, X. Modernizing China in the Olympic Spotlight: China’s National Identity and the 2008 Beijing Olympiad. Sociol. Rev. 2006, 54, 90–107.
  17. Zürn, M. Contested Global Governance. Glob. Policy 2018, 9, 138–145.
  18. Xu, J.; Cao, Y.; Qiao, Q.; Qian, Y. Sports in the Transnational Public Sphere: Findings from the Case of Daryl Morey’s Hong Kong Tweet. Int. J. Hist. Sport 2020, 37, 1139–1158.
  19. Khan, U.; Wang, H.; Ali, I. A Sustainable Community of Shared Future for Mankind: Origin, Evolution and Philosophical Foundation. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9352.
  20. Chu, M.P. From Integration with China to Engagement with the World: International Mega-Sports Events in Post-Handover Macau. Int. J. Hist. Sport 2016, 33, 1254–1267.
  21. Kobierecki, M.M. Sports Exchange as a Tool of Shaping State’s Image: The Case of China. Pol. Polit. Sci. Stud. 2018, 59, 109–120.
  22. Chaziza, M. China–Qatar Strategic Partnership and the Realization of One Belt, One Road Initiative. China Rep. 2020, 56, 78–102.
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  24. Murray, S.C. The Role of Religion in Greek Sport. In A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: West Sussex, UK, 2013; pp. 309–319.
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Subjects: History Of Social Sciences
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Jiaomu Li
,
Bin Wan
,
Yaping Yao
,
Te Bu
,
Ping Li
,
Yang Zhang
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Revisions: 2 times (View History)
Update Date: 12 Apr 2023
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